Nortons add tens of foster children to their home, hearts

Posted: Monday, December 26, 2005

When University of Georgia head track coach Wayne Norton and his wife, Priscilla, came to Athens in 1990, they brought with them 2-year-old Christian. In the 15 years that followed, they would add to their household three children of their own and 85 foster children.

"Our family is composed of adopted, natural and foster children, and they're all the same to us," mom Priscilla says.

The Nortons' work with the foster children varies. Some youngsters stay for only 72 hours while others remain several years. They range in race (black, white, Hispanic, multi-racial) and age (newborn to 17). Some are disabled and some come in groups of three or four because the Division of Family and Children Services does not like to separate siblings.

At one point, nine children (three Nortons and two families of siblings) were housed in the Nortons' immaculate home.

And there have been some less-than-pleasant moments. Sometimes, children arrive in the middle of the night when case workers have to remove them from dangerous or abusive home situations.

"In a typical scenario, 99 percent of the time the children are in danger and the county steps in," Wayne explains. "The case worker has 72 hours to make a decision whether or not to return them to the parents. Sometimes the mother is in jail. If there is a problem with the immediate family, DFCS first looks to the extended family to provide a home. If that doesn't work out, the child remains in foster care.

"Most of the time," he adds, "there is a honeymoon period where the kids try to fit in. Some of them take getting moved right in stride. Sometimes, though, they revert to bad behavior and we have to deal with that through discipline and giving consequences.

"Sometimes, we have to say 'no' when DFCS calls. Otherwise, that number 85 would be up to 100," he says.

While Wayne Norton works his "day job" - his championship UGA track teams have sported four Olympians, including runner Debbie Ferguson who won a gold medal in the 2000 Olympics - Priscilla home schools three of their children. She also makes sure Clarke Central High senior Christian Norton, who runs track and plays football, and school-aged foster students get to their public schools on time.

"We try not to interrupt the children's education, so I often drive them to schools across town where they had been going so they won't be so totally disrupted," notes Priscilla Norton, who was named 2004 Mother of the Year by Bethesda Temple Church, where the family worships.

She also supervises homework and play time on the swings and slides in their grassy backyard. Additionally, the three younger Norton children participate in the Masters Academy Home School Association where LaShawna, 14, plays the clarinet in the band. Two other Nortons play instruments - Christian the saxophone and Jasmine, 11, the keyboard.

After the hustle and bustle of the day, the entire family gathers for the evening meal. But the parents' work still isn't done.

"I have an additional baby sitting job right now," Priscilla Norton says. "A young mother drops off her 2 children - a 4- and a 5-year-old - at about 9:30 in the evening on her way to work and picks them up at 7 a.m. after she gets through with her job. They spend the night here, and I have them ready for school in the morning."

Bridget Love, resources developer for DFCS, is the Nortons' social worker. She has great praise for what this remarkable family has given to children of the community.

"The Nortons are a great asset to our program because they are always willing to give children a chance, no matter what their age, background or condition," Love says. "We are so grateful to them and to other families like them."

Even after they leave the Norton home, the Nortons' charges often stay in touch, even exchanging birthday and Christmas gifts with the family. Wayne, a minister, officiated at the wedding of one of their foster daughters, and all the other Nortons took part in the ceremony.

Not surprisingly, foster parenting can mean more visits to the doctor and trips to the hospital.

"We got one child when he was 4 days old. He was not eating and was sleeping all the time, so we were back and forth to the hospital while he was so sick. Even Christian took turns spending the night with the baby in the hospital," Priscilla Norton says. "The whole family is involved in our foster care."

Erica, 6, adds, "I like helping with the babies."

In fact, all the Norton children say they enjoy living in a home filled with so many foster siblings.

"I like having a lot of kids around. There's always something to do, and you never get bored," LaShawna says.

Jasmine agrees; "I feel like a big sister and I like to play with the babies and the big kids. But sometimes I really miss them when they leave."

That sense of loss is understood.

"Everyone experiences a sense of loss when they leave," Priscilla says. We get very attached, especially to the younger ones. The longer we have them, the more we feel the separation."

Sadly, the Nortons also have attended two funerals for former foster children - one child was born blind and had multiple birth defects, and the other succumbed to cancer.

So why does this family continue to nurture young people who have so many problems and are in so much need?

"Helping children is something Wayne and I always wanted to do. Our parents were foster parents, too," says Priscilla, who met her husband at Indiana University while both were students.

"Foster care is so important," she adds. "We need to get more people involved so that when there's a problem, children will have an immediate place to go. These youngsters must have structure and a loving home environment."

Want to get involved?

If you are interested in being a foster parent, call 1-877-210-KIDS. To be certified, applicants must undergo a 20-hour certification program, a criminal background check, drug screening and home consultation by DFCS, and they must provide references.